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Bromus tectorum

(Cheat Grass)

Overview

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Interesting Facts

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Common Names

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Click on the language to view common names.

Common Names in Chinese:

Han Que Mai

Common Names in English:

Cheat Grass, Bronco Grass, Broncograss, Cheat Grass Bromus Tectorum, Cheatgrass, Cheatgrass Brome, Downy Brome, Downy Broome, Downy Chess, Drooping Brome, Early Chess, June Grass, Military Chess, Military Grass, Mormon Oats, Selnder Chess, Thatch Bromegrass, Wild Oats

Common Names in French:

Brome Des Toits

Common Names in German:

Dach-Trespe, Dachtrespe

Common Names in Italian:

Forasacco Dei Tetti

Common Names in Nepalese:

Juke

Common Names in Portuguese:

Bromo-Felpudo, Bromo-Pendente, Capim-Cevadinha

Common Names in Spanish:

Bromo Velloso, Espiguilla Colgante

Description

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Genus Bromus

Annuals or perennials . Culms erect , tufted or with rhizomes. Leaf sheaths closed ; leaf blades linear , usually flat; ligules membranous. Panicles spreading or contracted , branches scabrid or pubescent , elongated or arched. Spikelets large, with 3 to many florets , upper florets often sterile ; rachilla disarticulating above glumes and between florets, scabrid or shortly hairy ; glumes unequal or subequal , shorter than spikelet, lanceolate or nearly ovate , (1-) 5-7-veined, apex acute or long acuminate or aristiform ; floret callus glabrous or both sides thinly hairy; lemmas rounded on back or compressed to keel, 5-9(-11) -veined, herbaceous or nearly leathery, margins often membranous, apex entire or 2-toothed; awn terminal or arising from lemma between teeth slightly under apex, rarely awnless or 3-awned; palea narrow, usually shorter than lemma, keels ciliate or scabrid. Lodicules 2. Stamens 3. Ovary apex with appendage ; styles 2, arising from lower front of appendage. Caryopsis oblong , apex hairy, adaxial surface sulcate . Chromosomes large, x = 7, 2n = 14, 28, 42, 56, 70.

About 150 species: temperate regions , mainly in the N hemisphere, also on mountains in the tropics; 55 species (eight endemic, at least three introduced ) in China.[1]

Physical Description

Species Bromus tectorum

Annual . Culms erect , 20-60 cm tall, 3- or 4-noded. Leaf sheaths pubescent ; leaf blades 5-20 cm, 2-4 mm wide, pubescent; ligule 1.5-2 mm. Panicle spreading , 8-15 cm, secund ; branches 3-5 at lower nodes, slender, mostly curved , scabrid , pubescent, each bearing 1-8 slightly nodding spikelets . Spikelets 10-35(-50) mm; florets 4-8; rachilla internodes 2-3 mm; glumes narrowly lanceolate, margins membranous, lower glume 8-15 mm, 1-3-veined, upper glume 11-17 mm, 3-7-veined, apex acute, obtuse , or shortly aristiform ; lemmas 9-22 mm, 1-1.5 mm wide in side view , 5-7-veined, scabrid or pubescent, margins thinly membranous, shiny, apex acuminate, acute, or obtuse, 2-toothed, awned from sinus , awn 12-25(-40) mm, slender, straight; palea shorter than or subequal to lemma, keels ciliate . Stamens 3; anthers 0.5-2 mm. Fl. and fr. May-Sep. [source]

Habit: Graminoid

Flowers: Bloom Period: Grassy places, dry slopes , river beaches, dry sandy places, wastelands, roadsides; 100-3400(-4200) m [2].

Size/Age/Growth

Size: 18-24" tall.

Habitat

Grassy places, dry slopes , river beaches, dry sandy places, wastelands, roadsides; 100-3400(-4200) m [2].

Typically found at an altitude of 0 to 3,632 meters (0 to 11,916 feet).[3]

Biology

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Reproduction

Duration: Annual

Growth

Soil: Minimum pH: 6.1 • Maximum pH: 6.5

Sunlight: Sun Exposure: Sun to Partial Shade.

Temperature: Cold Hardiness: Not Applicable (map)

Taxonomy

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Synonyms

Anisantha tectorum (L.) Nevski • Bromus tectorum var. glabratus Spenner • Bromus tectorum var. hirsutus Regel • Bromus tectorum var. nudus Klett & Richter

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name .

Last scrutiny: 17-Oct-2001

Similar Species

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Members of the genus Bromus

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 88 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus:

B. aleutensis (Aleutian Brome) · B. alopecuros (Roadside Brome) · B. alopecuros caroli-henrici (Weedy Brome) · B. anomalus (Nodding Bromegrass) · B. arenarius (Australian Brome) · B. arizonicus (Arizona Brome) · B. arvensis (Field Brome) · B. benekkenii (Brome) · B. berterianus (Chilean Brome) · B. biebersteinii (Meadow Brome) · B. briziformis (Rattlesnake Brome) · B. carinatus (California Brome) · B. catharticus (Prairie Grass) · B. ciliatus (Canadian Brome) · B. ciliatus var. ciliatus (Fringed Brome) · B. ciliatus var. richardsonii (Fringed Brome) · B. commutatus (Hairy Brome) · B. danthoniae (Oat Brome) · B. diandrus (Great Brome) · B. erectus (Erect Brome) · B. erectus erectus (Upright Brome) · B. frondosus (Weeping Brome) · B. grandis (Tall Brome) · B. grossus (Whiskered Brome) · B. hordaceus (Soft Chess) · B. hordeaceus (Soft Brome) · B. hordeaceus hordeaceus (Soft Brome) · B. hordeaceus molliformis (Soft Brome) · B. hordeaceus thominei (Soft Brome) · B. hordeaceus subsp. hordeaceus (Downy Brome) · B. hordeaceus subsp. molliformis (Soft Brome) · B. hordeaceus subsp. thominei (Soft Brome) · B. inermis (Awnless Brome) · B. inermis inermis (Awnless Brome) · B. inermis inermis var. inermis (Smooth Brome) · B. inermis pumpellianus (Pumpelly's Brome) · B. inermis pumpellianus var. pumpellianus (Pumpelly's Brome) · B. inermis var. arcticus (Awnless Brome) · B. inermis var. inermis (Smooth Brome) · B. inermis subsp. pumpellianus (Pumpelly's Brome) · B. inermis 'Skinner's Gold' (Skinner's Gold Smooth Brome) · B. japonicus (Japanese Brome) · B. kalmii (Arctic Brome) · B. laevipes (Chinook Brome) · B. lanatipes (Woolly Brome) · B. lanceolatus (Mediterranean Brome) · B. latiglumis (Broad-Glumed Brome) · B. lepidus (Slender Soft Brome) · B. luzonensis (Hoary Brome) · B. madritensis (Compact Brome) · B. madritensis madritensis (Compact Brome) · B. mango (Mango Brome) · B. marginatus (Mountain Brome) · B. marginatus var. marginatus (Large Mountain Brome) · B. maritimus (Seaside Brome) · B. mollis non (Soft Chess) · B. mucroglumis (Arizona Brome) · B. nottowayanus (Nottoway Brome Grass) · B. orcuttianus (Orcutt Brome) · B. orcuttianus var. orcuttianus (Orcutt's Brome) · B. pacificus (Pacific Brome) · B. polyanthus (Basin Brome) · B. polyanthus var. paniculatus (Great Basin Brome) · B. polyanthus var. polyanthus (Great Basin Brome) · B. porteri (Nodding Brome) · B. pseudolaevipes (Coast Range Brome) · B. pubescens (Hairy Wood Brome Grass) · B. racemosus (Bald Brome) · B. ramosus (Bald Brome) · B. ramosus benekenii (Hairy Brome) · B. ramosus ramosus (Hairy Brome) · B. richardsonii var. richardsonii (Richardson´s Brome) · B. rigidus (Ripgut Brome) · B. riparius (Meadow Brome) · B. rubens (Foxtail Brome) · B. scoparius (Broom Brome) · B. secalinus (Bromegrass) · B. sitchensis (Alaska Brome) · B. sitchensis var. sitchensis (Sitka Brome) · B. squarrosus (Corn Brome) · B. squarrosus squarrosus (Corn Brome) · B. stamineus (Roadside Brome) · B. sterilis (Barren Bromegrass) · B. suksdorfii (Suksdorf's Brome) · B. tectorum (Cheat Grass) · B. tectorum var. tectorum (Cheatgrass) · B. texensis (Texas Brome) · B. vulgaris (Columbia Brome)

More Info

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Further Reading

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Notes

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Contributors

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal November 15, 2007:

Identifiers

Footnotes

  1. Liang Liu, Guanghua Zhu & Klaus Ammann "Bromus". in Flora of China Vol. 22 Page 370, 371. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
  2. "Bromus tectorum". in Flora of China Vol. 22 Page 373, 380, 382. Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
  3. Mean = 508.170 meters (1,667.224 feet), Standard Deviation = 595.480 based on 1,768 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]
Last Revised: 7/15/2012